- Rays outfielder Brandon Guyer was hit by a pitch a major league-record-tying three times Thursday, a feat that had only been accomplished on 22 previous occasions. Guyer also did it once last year, when he was hit an American League-leading 24 times. Guyer, who has already been hit by five pitches this year, told David Laurila of FanGraphs that there isn’t a special skill involved. “There’s no art to it. I promise,” he said. “It’s not something I’m out there looking to do, it just happens. I don’t know how to get out of the way. It’s just instinctual that I don’t move. I’m not afraid.” Thanks in part to his fearlessness, Guyer got on base an impressive 35.9 percent of the time in 385 plate appearances in 2015 and has a tremendous .485 OBP in 33 PAs this season.
Rays Rumors
Blake Snell Impressive In First MLB Start
Blake Snell looked impressive in his Major League debut, holding the Yankees to one run on two hits and a walk over five innings on Saturday, while striking out six. “I just settled in, and it felt like it felt my whole life when I went out there and pitched,” Snell told reporters, including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Snell has already been optioned back to Triple-A since the Rays only needed him for one start (due to Erasmo Ramirez being needed in the bullpen) but it seems quite likely that you’ll see Snell back in the Show later this season. Here’s some more from around the AL East…
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/23/16
Here are the latest minor transactions from around baseball:
- The Twins have called up right-hander Tyler Duffey from Triple-A and optioned infielder Jorge Polanco, the team announced. Duffey will start the Twins’ game Sunday against the Nationals in place of Ervin Santana, who has back tightness. Duffey, 25, broke into the majors last season and was excellent for the Twins, throwing 58 innings of 3.10 ERA ball with an 8.22 K/9 and 3.10 BB/9. Duffey’s standout performance has continued this year in Triple-A Rochester, where he has pitched to a 1.72 ERA and 2.98 FIP in three starts. Polanco, who’s regarded as a top-100 prospect, got the call to Minnesota last week but didn’t last long. The 22-year-old logged only eight plate appearances, giving him 28 in the big leagues since 2014.
- The Rays wasted no time sending top pitching prospect Blake Snell back to Triple-A after his stellar debut at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune tweets. With Snell returning to Durham, the Rays have selected the contract of right-hander Jhan Marinez. Snell threw five innings of one-run ball in his first major league start, holding the Yankees to two hits and a walk while striking out six. Snell got a no-decision in the Rays’ 3-2 loss. Marinez, 27, could now make his first trip to a major league mound since he picked up 2 2/3 frames for the White Sox in 2012.
- The Blue Jays have optioned southpaw Chad Girodo to Triple-A to make room for right-hander Drew Hutchison, who will start their game Sunday against the A’s, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (Twitter link). Girodo has tossed two scoreless innings for the Jays this year. Hutchison racked up 62 appearances (60 starts) and 335 innings with the Jays from 2014-15, but he struggled to prevent runs (4.97 ERA) despite a quality K/9 (8.41) and decent BB/9 (2.79).
- The Marlins have placed third baseman Martin Prado on the paternity list and selected the contract of left-hander Cody Ege, per a club announcement. Ege, 24, will make his major league debut after recording stellar numbers in 161 2/3 minor league innings. Ege owns a 2.23 minors ERA to go with an 11.4 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9.
- The Diamondbacks have recalled right-hander Enrique Burgos from Triple-A and optioned righty Silvino Bracho, the team announced. Burgos accrued 27 innings out of the D-backs’ bullpen last season and put up a lofty ERA (4.67) that belied an impressive strikeout rate (13.0 per nine). Bracho threw just 1 2/3 innings for Arizona prior to the demotion, surrendering five hits and three earned runs.
- The Padres have placed utilityman Alexi Amarista on the 15-day DL (retroactive to April 20) with a right hamstring strain and recalled Cesar Vargas from Double-A, according to Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). Amarista owns a career .229/.277/.325 batting line in 1,601 major league plate appearances, but he was off to a solid start this year (.333/.440/.333 in 26 PAs). Vargas will start the Padres’ game against the Cardinals tonight. The Mexico native could be a diamond in the rough, as Chris Mitchell of Fangraphs details.
Earlier Moves
- The Nationals signed righty Jaron Long to a minor league deal, the team announced. Jaron Long, the son of Mets hitting coach Kevin Long, spent 2013-15 working through the Yankees’ minor league system. Long, 24, has put up some solid totals in the minors (3.26 ERA, 6.8 K/9, 1.6 BB/9), but he hasn’t yet earned a call-up to the majors.
- The Tigers have claimed catcher John Hicks off waivers from the Twins, Anthony Fenecki of the Detroit Free Press was among those to report (on Twitter). Hicks owns a .279/.325/.408 line in 1,690 minor league PAs and has thrown out a whopping 48 percent of base stealers at various levels. The 26-year-old debuted in the majors last season with the Mariners, collecting only two hits and a walk in 34 trips to the plate.
- The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Arnold Leon cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A (Twitter link via Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com). Leon gave up two runs in 2 1/3 innings with the Jays before they designated him for assignment April 13. He made his major league debut last year with Oakland and posted a 4.39 ERA in 26 1/3 innings. Leon induced an average amount of ground balls (45.9 percent) and averaged 6.4 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 during that time.
- The Royals have released minor league left-hander Brandon Zajac, tweets Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com. Zajac was a 23rd-round pick of the Giants in 2013.
- The Braves have recalled lefty reliever Matt Marksberry from Double-A and optioned right-hander Casey Kelly to Triple-A, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com. The Braves needed a fresh arm in place of Kelly, who threw three innings of one-run ball for them on Friday. Marksberry, who has put up a 3.63 ERA over 203 1/3 career minor league innings, tossed 23 1/3 frames for the Braves last season. He compiled a 5.01 ERA to accompany an 8.1 K/9 and 6.2 BB/9.
- The Mets sent right-hander Rafael Montero to Triple-A to make room for the return of starter Jacob deGrom, according to Adam Rubin of ESPN. New York called up Montero on April 12 and he went on to surrender three earned runs on five hits, one walk and three strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings. DeGrom hasn’t pitched since April 8 because of right lat tightness and medical complications with his recently born son, Jaxon, who was released from the hospital Monday.
- The Red Sox recalled left-handler Roenis Elias on Friday and sent righty William Cuevas to Triple-A, per the Boston Herald. Elias, whom Boston acquired from Seattle during the offseason in the Wade Miley/Carson Smith trade, will work out of the Red Sox’s bullpen. Elias has made a pair of starts for Pawtucket this year after totaling 49 as a Mariner the previous two seasons. During that time frame, Elias combined for 277 2/3 innings of 3.99 ERA ball to go with a 7.75 K/9 and 3.47 BB/9. Cuevas, who has been in the Boston organization since 2008, made his major league debut this season to poor results before the demotion. The 25-year-old allowed five base runners (three hits and two walks) and two earned runs in 2 1/3 frames.
Rays Option Danny Farquhar To Make Way For Blake Snell
- With top Rays pitching prospect Blake Snell coming up for his first start tomorrow, Baseball America’s Vince Lara-Cinisomo takes a look at the 23-year-old lefty. While he still needs to refine his command, BA suggests he could become a number two starter if he can reach his ceiling in the majors. Tampa Bay has optioned reliever Danny Farquhar to clear room for Snell, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The 29-year-old righty has pitched well enough in the early going, but he was one of only a few optionable arms in the Rays’ pen and appeared in each of the last two games.
Rays To Promote Blake Snell
4:19pm: Snell is expected to be active only for one start, manager Kevin Cash tells reporters, including Topkin (Twitter link).
2:09pm: The Rays will promote one of the game’s top pitching prospects, left-hander Blake Snell, to start Saturday at Yankee Stadium, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Snell, the No. 52 overall pick in the 2011 draft, will be making his Major League debut.
While he wasn’t an overly heralded prospect until last season, Snell’s 2015 was simply too dominant to ignore. The Washington native began the season at Class-A Advanced and had a meteoric rise to the Triple-A level, beginning with an incredible streak of 46 scoreless innings to open the year. All told, Snell’s 2015 season culminated with a microscopic 1.41 ERA with 10.9 strikeouts and 3.6 walks per nine innings pitched. That showing prompted Baseball America and MLB.com each to rank him as the No. 12 prospect in baseball, while ESPN’s Keith Law rated him 14th and Baseball Prospectus penciled Snell in at No. 21 on their list.
Snell is said to have the upside of a No. 2 starter now that his command has taken several steps forward (he averaged 6.6 and 4.4 walks per nine innings in 2013 and 2014, respectively). The 6’4″ lefty has a 92-94 mph fastball that can reach 96-97 mph and complements that plus heater with a plus changeup and a plus slider in addition to a curveball that BA calls “more of a supplement to his arsenal than a true weapon.” Law writes that Snell is probably a No. 3 even if his command doesn’t take a further step forward, and he could become one of the 10 best lefties in baseball.
Because Snell will have spent the first 20 days of the season at the minor league level, he’ll be able to earn a maximum of 163 days of Major League service this season. That’s assuming he doesn’t make a return trip to the minors, which is far from a given. It’s also worth noting that the 20 days he’s spent in the minors is the minimum he could’ve spent at that level without retroactively receiving the service time he’s missed by being optioned to open the season. In essence, Saturday then marks the first day that Snell could be recalled without the Rays running the risk of losing a year of club control. In the event that Snell does not return to the minors this year, the Rays would be able to control him through the 2022 season, though he would still qualify as a Super Two player and be arbitration eligible four times instead of the more typical three. Snell is already on the 40-man roster, so Tampa Bay will only need to clear space for him on the active roster. He’s begun the season with a 2.41 ERA and a 21-to-7 K/BB ratio in 14 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level.
Whether Snell sticks with the big league club remains to be seen. As Topkin notes, the promotion was necessitated by the need for a fifth starter after Erasmo Ramirez was needed in relief, so there may not be a permanent spot in the rotation — especially with right-hander Alex Cobb making his way back from Tommy John surgery. It’s conceivable, though, that Snell would be impressive enough to earn a lengthier look than merely one start with a strong showing, leaving Ramirez in a swing-man role while Cobb continues his rehab.
AL East Notes: Swihart, Conger, Orioles
The Red Sox’ recall of Christian Vazquez from Triple-A Pawtucket brings into question Blake Swihart’s immediate role with the club, writes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Vazquez is known to be an excellent defensive backstop, whereas there have been concerns with Swihart’s glove early this season. The team made veteran Ryan Hanigan available during Spring Training, he notes, but Swihart’s struggles might make it more difficult to part with a sturdy backup like Hanigan. Drellich explores the possibility of a position change for Swihart, whose bat is his best asset, although it’s not clear that the team has entertained any such notion at this time.
A couple more items pertaining to the AL East as teams gear up for their series…
- The Rays were confident that they could cure Hank Conger’s throwing woes when they acquired him from Houston this offseason, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, but Conger permitted five stolen bases in yesterday’s contest and is 0-for-7 in throwing out runners to begin the season. An 0-for-7 skid wouldn’t necessarily be an extreme concern for many catchers, but Conger threw out just one of 43 attempted base stealers last season and has now yielded 44 consecutive stolen bases. Manager Kevin Cash acknowledged that controlling the running game is an area in which Tampa Bay needs to improve, noting that he felt Chris Archer did a good job holding runners yesterday in spite of the barrage of steals. Conger’s sudden struggles are a bit curious, considering he threw out 35 of 145 runners (24 percent) with the Angels from 2012-14 before the issue arose. Conger does grade out as an excellent pitch framer, so if the Rays can improve his throwing, they’d have the makings of a very strong defensive backstop.
- Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun looks at what could be an unexpectedly crowded corner outfield situation for the Orioles now that Adam Jones is back in the lineup. Rule 5 pick Joey Rickard and veteran Nolan Reimold have hit well thus far, and Hyun Soo Kim remains on option despite limited playing time thus far. Jones and Mark Trumbo figure to be in there virtually every day (though Trumbo can DH against lefties in place of Pedro Alvarez), but there could indeed be a carousel of sorts to be managed by Buck Showalter. I don’t know that the logjam is as pronounced as it would appear, as Rickard’s early success doesn’t strike me as overly sustainable given his high BABIP and lack of hard contact. (As Meoli points out, he’s 4-for-20 after a fast start to the season.) The club will have to carry Rickard all year, though, to keep him, so he’ll have to get his share of playing time.
Rays Notes: Technology, Cobb, Whitley
- Never afraid to try something outside the box, the Rays have adopted the usage of virtual reality training for their hitters, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Rays batters have available to them a set of virtual reality goggles that allow them to stand at/near/behind the plate in the batting cage and watch a virtual simulation of that evening’s pitcher throwing to them. Steven Souza Jr. and Curt Casali both spoke very highly of the new tool, whereas Evan Longoria was optimistic about its benefits down the line but said he feels there’s room for improvement. “We’re looking forward to learning more about the technology and how it might benefit our players,” said Rays president of baseball operations Matt Silverman to Topkin. Topkin notes that the Rays aren’t the only club using the technology; the Pirates and “several” other teams have begun to experiment with it.
- Rays right-hander Alex Cobb and Chase Whitley each made 20 throws from halfway up the bullpen mound on Tuesday, Topkin writes in a separate piece. Each will throw again on Friday and next Tuesday before moving to the top of the mound late next week. Cobb noted that while the news isn’t exciting, he and Whitley both considered it to be a big day in their rehab. Both right-handers are making their way back from Tommy John surgery that was performed in May of last season.
Chris Archer Not Worried About Velocity Drop
- Rays ace Chris Archer has stumbled out of the gate with a a 7.20 ERA in his first two starts this year while experiencing a dip in velocity, but he feels fine and doesn’t believe concern is warranted. “I’ve seen some headlines, and it’s comical, “because I was throwing 92-96 (mph) last game instead of 94-97, and it’s a big deal,” he said (via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). “My slider was 85-88 instead of 86-90 and it’s a big deal. And I don’t know why. I think people just need something to talk about, something to write about, something to justify me not having the greatest start.”
Rosenthal’s Latest: Beltre, Schwarber, Rickard, Sizemore
A Beltre extension with the Rangers is challenging because there just aren’t many comparables, reports Ken Rosenthal in his latest video for FOX Sports. The Rangers consider Red Sox designated hitter to be similar, but Ortiz obviously doesn’t have Beltre’s elite third base defense. Ortiz has made around $13MM to $16MM in each of the last five seasons. His contracts have typically included complicated club options with a variety of vesting scenarios and amounts. If both sides agree to use Ortiz as a yard stick, they’ll still have to figure out how to balance offensive and defensive considerations along with what portions of the deal should be guaranteed.
Here’s more from Rosenthal:
- Kyle Schwarber’s future at catcher is in question. The Cubs will react to how his rehab progresses, but he already had a short window to establish himself behind the plate. Catching prospect Willson Contreras will probably be major league ready sometime during this season, and he’s always rated as the better defender. Schwarber’s already a questionable outfielder. With Anthony Rizzo locked in at first base, Rosenthal wonders if Schwarber might not be destined to join an AL club.
- The Rays had to make difficult choices when they exposed Tyler Goeddel and Joey Rickard to the Rule 5 draft. The team had a number of right-handed outfielders and pitchers to protect. They weren’t confident Rickard had a high enough ceiling to warrant an eventual everyday role. Outfielders are also hard to stash for a full season than pitchers, making it more likely the club could reacquire Rickard later in the year.
- Former Indians star Grady Sizemore remains a free agent despite posting over an .800 OPS in the second half last year. Sizemore has received minor league offers, but he’s waiting for an opportunity to be a regular contributor. Sizemore doesn’t want to sign with a team just to provide depth. In my opinion, Sizemore may have to pick the best offer soon – perhaps with an opt-out if another club offers a major league contract. James Loney was the most recent player to sign a contract of that type.
Former Big Leaguer Sowers Assisting In Rays Baseball Ops Department
- Former big league right-hander Jeremy Sowers is beginning to carve out a career on the baseball operations side of the game as a member of the Rays organization, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Sowers’ final big league game came in 2009, and since that time he received an MBA from North Carolina. After briefly working in the corporate world, Sowers took a 2015 internship with the Rays, who eventually hired him as a Major League operations assistant. Sowers is working with the Rays’ advance scouting process, and he’s also an integral part of the club’s instant replay process as well as the “information flow with [the Rays’] players and coaches,” per president Matt Silverman.
